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If your spa isn’t already selling products related to your service-based offering, you should consider it. Fifty-nine percent of consumers say they’re likely to buy products that aren’t part of a business’s main offering, according to a Square survey.
While omnichannel selling — aka using multiple channels to sell — is more commonly discussed as a retail strategy, beauty businesses like your spa can also benefit from the approach. In fact, spas that use Square make 9% more in revenue sales selling online and in person compared to other beauty businesses.
You may be capitalizing on this trend by selling retail items in-store and stand to maximize revenue by offering them online as well. This is strong support for adding an online store component to your business.
An eCommerce store for your spa can maximize revenue by providing opportunities to connect with and upsell clients. Selling online can benefit clients too. It allows them to purchase a retail item online while make a booking and then pick it up in the salon if they run out between visits.
There are several ways to expand the reach and revenue potential of your spa booking website. The best part is that the online store can serve as an extension of your retail store with additional products that your customers want and need. Here’s how it works and how to get started.
How an online store can complement your spa business
Beauty businesses that use Square Appointments and sell items and services online and in-store have 43% higher annual sales than those that sell only in person, according to internal Square data. That’s because an online store provides an opportunity to increase sales by upselling and cross-selling items with related products (even when your physical location is closed). You can offer the same products online as in your retail location to maximize sales potential and help drive customers from online to your location for in-store pickup.
An online store can also help you manage inventory and product selection. You can track and get inventory reporting on all products in one platform with Square — for both online and retail sales — to help you determine best-selling products and stock items more efficiently. (You won’t have to worry about over-ordering the wrong items because you’ll have an accurate count of all inventory.)
Overall, an online store is a low-risk, low-cost, but potentially high-reward addition to your business.
Online business creates new customer acquisition opportunity
One of the biggest benefits of an online store is the opportunity for customer acquisition, engagement, and retention. Businesses with omnichannel customer engagement strategies, for example, retain 89% of customers on average.
An online store allows your business to have direct and personalized interactions with customers 24/7. Your products are always available when your clients are ready to buy, which supports retention and loyalty to your business. It also promotes discovery by new clients searching for the kinds of products and services you provide.
An online shop, in fact, might be a client’s first interaction with your business. You can reach new customers by optimizing your site for discovery in search engines, also know as SEO. SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process by which your website’s content and technical configuration are made more relevant to your customers and their search queries. If you implement it well, your website ranks higher in organic search pages. SEO capabilities are built right into Square online sites, for both booking and online stores.
Post-pandemic, there’s an even greater expectation of a strong online customer experience that extends beyond a physical location, making both in-store and online options a must. And an online store can be a pivot point if you need to try something different with your business model. It’s always open, gives you total business autonomy, and allows for faster time to market because you can make changes quickly.
Getting started operating your online store
As you get ready to set up your online store, there are some considerations that are unique from your in-person retail or service business. Not only will you need to know what you’ll sell online, but also how you’ll get the products to customers, among other key considerations. Before you launch an eCommerce store, here are four things to sort out:
1. Hosting
Are you planning to use a hosted store? A hosted solution — such as Square Online — takes the complication out of interfaces, management, and managing multiple vendors for your website.
2. Shipping and returns
How do you plan to get online orders to customers? You can ship directly from your inventory, allow customers to pick up at your physical spa location, or even partner with a retail brand that will dropship items and manage inventory (so you don’t have to).
In-store pickups can save you time and money, and might be a way to start. Consider adding on a complementary 10- to 15-minute consultation on-site with online purchases to help convert online-only customers into service or retail clients as well.
However, only providing in-store pickup might limit your customer growth. If you want to provide shipping, but shipping and returns seem overwhelming, consult your Square Online Dashboard. Managing Square Online orders is easy and works right from your Dashboard. You can mark orders as shipped, add tracking numbers, refund items, and more.
3. Returns and exchanges
Even if you are selling products in your spa, returns and exchanges might look different for online orders, making it important to create a return and exchange policy.
4. FAQ and customer service
There’s a high expectation for online orders. What will you do if an order does not arrive? What if a product is damaged during delivery?
These are questions that online customers will likely ask. Create a Frequently Asked Questions page that addresses common concerns to help mitigate customer service issues and give consumers confidence to make a purchase online.
Launch your free, easy online store with Square
With Square Online and Square Appointments, you can sell an unlimited number of products with minimal effort. Get started by going to Appointments on your Dashboard, then click Online Booking to ensure it is enabled.
To customize and publish a website for bookings or sales, scroll down to preview and edit. Website sections are in the right sidebar. They include options such as:
- The header is at the top of the page, like with your logo and menu. Just click to turn it on and then you can pick a display option.
- The main banner is a great place to tell your story with images and text.
- Featured items are from the shop. (Choose your bestsellers!)
- The footer is at the bottom of the website with your shop info.
Change the order of sections by dragging and dropping, click the trashcan icon to delete, or create new sections using the “Add” button at the top of the page. Most sections will prompt you to include relevant information automatically. There is a section for Items where you can show any spa products you want to sell online. You can further customize everything using different colors or fonts. When you are finished, click Publish and the site will be available to the public.
Once you have set up the basics of the store, visit the Square Online Overview page to access different features or navigate the Square Online site editor to create an even more robust website design. You can edit either in the Square online booking site editor in the Appointments section of your Dashboard or the Square Online editor. By using Square integrated tools, you can ensure that every aspect of your business is in one location for easy access.
